Staff Associate II

THE OPPORTUNITY/POSITION DESCRIPTION

This opportunity to join the Department of Pediatrics division of Cardiology at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at the rank of Staff Associte II is an exciting one. Columbia University Irving Medical Center, one of the nation's foremost academic health science centers. The Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is the top in comparison with other pediatrics department in the NY region in NIH research funding.

For this full-time position, we are seeking a person with strong data analytic and communication skills to join our team in the assessment of national claims data, clinical registry data, and electronic health records (EHR), to evaluate drivers of outcomes, value, and health inequities for children with congenital heart disease.

The Staff Assocaite II (Data Specialist) will be responsible for collaborating with Principal Investigator (PI) and other team members to link and analyze large registry and claims data. We are looking for a person with experience and graduate training related to health care delivery, public health, and/or the financing of the United States health system. The ideal candidate will have had some experience working with health administrating/insurance claims data and/or electronic health records. Prior experience with the Department of Health or other training with large data will be viewed favorably. While the position requires technical skills, we are particularly looking for a person passionate about for making the health system work more efficiently and effectively for children and in growing as a member of our team. The person hired would participate in designing applied research and conducting related analyses. Recent projects include assessing the effects of socioeconomic disparities on outcomes and resource utilization for children undergoing congenital heart surgery and examining the effects of surgeon age/experience on patient outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Working directly with the PI and team to design and implement new projects and to make sure analyses are useful, accurate, and clearly communicated.
• Merging, cleaning, documenting, and managing administrative and clinical registry-based datasets; analyzing data quality and integrity; identifying and solving data quality problems; coding and creating new variables; preparing analysis files; producing statistical summaries, charts and tables; and communicating results.
• No prior knowledge of congenital heart disease is required, but a desire learn and to join a team aimed at improving quality and value of care for children with complex chronic conditions is a must.
• Participate in developing research designs, analytic plans, and communicating results.
• Develop programs, methodologies, and files for analyzing and presenting data.
• Import and clean raw datasets and evaluate data quality.
• Perform statistical analyses according to the study design (e.g., hierarchical modeling, survival analyses, weighted analyses, difference-in-difference, simulation, etc.).
• Accurately and appropriately interpret and communicate results.
• Detect and address issues in data and analytic results.
• Clearly communicate processes used and results achieved, and suggest new and alternative approaches.
• Assist in writing and editing manuscripts for publication.
• Cultivate deep familiarity with methodological approaches and data.

COMMITMENT OF DIVERSITY

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Educator. The University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment, and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans.

Columbia University welcomes applications from individuals who may have had nontraditional career paths, or who may have taken time off for family reasons (e.g. children, caring for disabled or elderly family), or who have achieved excellence in careers outside of academia (e.g., in professional or industry service). The University is responsive to the needs of dual career couples and is committed to supporting the work-life balance of its faculty. We are interested in candidates who have a record of success advising and mentoring individuals from groups underrepresented in higher education and is particularly interested in candidates who have research interests in subjects that will contribute to the understanding of diversity and equal opportunity.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum requirement is a Bachelor's degree in specific research field and 4 years of experience.
• Preferred requirement is a Master's degree in statistics, economic, statistics, public health, data science, or a related quantitative area.
• Consistently strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and sustain effective working relationships with professionals in other disciplines.
• The ability to create a high-energy results-oriented work environment that encourages colleagues and staff to value each other's contributions; and The ability to share and celebrate success with colleagues and staff.
• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills and a desire to grow as a member of the team.
• Attention to detail, ability to manage complex research and analyses.
• Strong analytic, organizational, and time management skills.
• Proficiency in STATA, SAS, R, or other statistical programs.

COMPENSATION

Compensation arrangements are competitive and commensurate with both experience and achievement.